Police: Brunswick driver on drugs smashes vehicles

BRUNSWICK HILLS TWP. — A 26-year-old Brunswick man was charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs after police said he caused two crashes on West 130th Street and failed to stop.

According to a Brunswick Hills police report, Carl J. Halenar, 26, of 1199 Manitoulin Pike, hit a vehicle and then ran a second vehicle off the road before crashing his car on Grafton Road, near Grafton and North Carpenter roads, at 6:47 p.m. Thursday.

Hinckley Township police reported Halenar was southbound on West 130th when his Ford van crossed the center line, striking a vehicle on the driver’s side and knocking it into a ditch on the Hinckley Township side of the road.

A second vehicle, traveling behind the first, swerved right into the ditch to avoid hitting Halenar’s van as he continued to head south in the northbound lane, the report said.

Police said the van struck a mailbox before turning right onto Grafton Road.

Brunswick Hills police said Halenar’s van lost its left front tire and was driving on the rim. The vehicle struck a curb just before North Carpenter Road and dropped into a ditch.

No one seriously was injured in the crashes, but Hinckley police estimate damages of more than $1,000 to the two cars struck on West 130th Street.

Brunswick police initially responded to the scene but turned the investigation over to Brunswick Hills Township officers because the van crashed in the township.

Brunswick Township responded to the crash and asked him to perform field sobriety tests. He also submitted to a breath test, which found no alcohol in his blood.

Halenar was asked to undergo a urine test for drugs but declined. He told officers he would test positive for marijuana, according to the Brunswick Hills report.

Brunswick police assisted the township by providing its drug recognition expert. According to the Brunswick police report, the drug expert believed Halenar was under the influence of narcotics injected intravenously. A search of the vehicle turned up drug paraphernalia.

Halenar was charged with OVI and failure to control by Brunswick Hills police. He was issued citations from Hinckley Township for leaving the scene of a crash, a marked lane violation and OVI.

Halenar was released by police to his father about 10:50 p.m.

According to online municipal court records, Halenar has not yet entered a plea. An arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 12.

Loren Genson is The Gazette's senior reporter. She covers Brunswick city and state and national government. She's been with The Gazette since August 2012. Contact her at (330) 721-4063 or via email at lgenson@medina-gazette.com.